Even as retailers continue to expand same-day delivery options, demand for home delivery of online grocery shopping has plateaued.
According to a study performed by Mercatus in partnership with Incisiv, the percentage of online grocery consumers who used curbside pickup at least once in the prior year grew to 61 percent on average in 2021, up 9 percent from the previous year’s poll.
When the same question about home delivery was posed, there was no recorded increase in use for 2021. 46{7d6bb1f761e691f027164c9fe6d1ebbc4659a250013ce39dc45a15ede39dbac5} of online grocery buyers said they used delivery services at least once in the last 12 months, which is the same as in 2020.
The new analysis is consistent with a previous Mercatus report, which found that online grocery buyers are increasingly preferring store pickup.
Consumers stated their primary reason for preferring supermarket pickup over delivery is to avoid higher delivery costs and surcharges. While 57{7d6bb1f761e691f027164c9fe6d1ebbc4659a250013ce39dc45a15ede39dbac5} of online buyers value fast (same-day) delivery, only 15{7d6bb1f761e691f027164c9fe6d1ebbc4659a250013ce39dc45a15ede39dbac5} of all shoppers are ready to pay an additional cost for it.
According to Mercatus, widespread adoption of supermarket pickup services is projected to further reduce online customers’ reliance on home delivery in the future. Prior to the pandemic, 27{7d6bb1f761e691f027164c9fe6d1ebbc4659a250013ce39dc45a15ede39dbac5} of respondents indicated that they preferred delivery. This figure increased to 41{7d6bb1f761e691f027164c9fe6d1ebbc4659a250013ce39dc45a15ede39dbac5} during the peak of pandemic-related restrictions. Following the pandemic, that figure is likely to fall to 24{7d6bb1f761e691f027164c9fe6d1ebbc4659a250013ce39dc45a15ede39dbac5} as merchants continue to strengthen their capacity to provide an improved online customer fulfillment experience.
“Pickup works exceptionally effectively for both supermarkets and their customers in the North American market,” said Sylvain Perrier, Mercatus’ president and CEO. “In comparison to third-party delivery, pick-up services give supermarkets greater control over the expense of serving online customers. Customers who order online appreciate the precision, adaptability, and overall convenience that store pickup delivers. And, when done correctly, pickup services improve the overall shopping experience by establishing enduring relationships with customers, which results in repeat business for grocers.”
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Online Grocery Shoppings
Mobile is unquestionably the future of online grocery shopping, with consumers expecting to boost their mobile channel usage by 14{7d6bb1f761e691f027164c9fe6d1ebbc4659a250013ce39dc45a15ede39dbac5} over the next year. Grocery shoppers are increasingly use the smartphone application of their favourite retailer for in-store assistance such as product location, proximity specials, and self-checkout.
• When it comes to the online grocery shopping preferences of different age groups and racial/ethnic communities, non-white families are younger and report higher average online order values across all respondents.
• Black or African American households used the internet at a rate of 54{7d6bb1f761e691f027164c9fe6d1ebbc4659a250013ce39dc45a15ede39dbac5} in 2021, placed the most frequent orders (2.8 per month), and spent the most on average monthly purchases ($271). This was followed by Hispanic/Latinx, Asian, and Caucasian households in descending order.
According to Incisiv, the online grocery channel (pickup, delivery, and ship-to-home) is predicted to continue growing and will account for 11.1 percent of total grocery sales in the United States by 2021. Within five years, online grocery is expected to account for 20.5 percent of all grocery sales in the United States – or approximately $263 billion of the total yearly sales of USD $1,285 trillion. This is a little decrease from the projection for 2020, as US grocery shoppers react to the return of brick-and-mortar grocery stores.
The poll gathered more than 40 million data points from more than 40,000 respondents in 20 states. The poll, conducted in July 2021, is the most comprehensive assessment of the seismic shifts that have irreversibly altered the digital grocery industry.
